Published 4:45 pm, Tuesday, June 30, 2015

NORWALK -- City officials on Tuesday executed a $17 million bond sale to pay for school, city and other capital projects throughout Norwalk.

Thomas S. Hamilton, the city's director of finance, said the city secured an interest rate of 2.57 percent over the 15-year life of the bonds.

"The low bidder was Morgan Stanley at 2.579 percent for 15 years," Hamilton said. "We had eight bidders and we sold it competitively, and the range of the bidders was very narrow, from 2.57 percent to 2.74 percent."

This sale will finance $4,685,330 in school projects, $7,961,670 in city capital projects, $1.4 million in Water Pollution Control Authority projects and $2,953,000 for urban renewal/redevelopment projects, according to city officials.

The bond sale comes a week after the city had its favorable Triple-A bond rating reaffirmed by three major credit-rating agencies.

Standard & Poor's, Moody's Investors Service, Inc., and Fitch Ratings each gave the city their best ratings.

The ratings allow the city to borrow money at the lowest-possible interest rates and thus save taxpayers money.

As a result of the favorable rating, Hamilton's office has projected that the city will save $170,000 in interest expense over the life of the bond issuance as compared to rates that the city would achieve if it held a lower Aa rating.

"I am proud that we have continued our tradition of responsible fiscal leadership, and want to recognize Finance Director Tom Hamilton and his staff for a job well done," Mayor Harry W. Rilling said in a statement last week. "We are in an excellent position to move forward with our plans for improving and strengthening our infrastructure in order to make Norwalk an even better city for residents, businesses, and visitors."